Michael Parsons was sitting in his car Monday evening at Southwest Broadway and Madison Street when a mob ran toward him, pursued by police officers in riot gear.

"I thought, 'With all that energy there's no way the gallery didn't get damaged.'"

He was right.

Two windows – each 7 feet high and nearly 4 feet wide – at his eponymous fine art gallery were cracked. Parsons decided to head to dinner and check later on the condition of his gallery.

"I sort of felt sick to my stomach," said Parsons, who supports the right to protest but draws the line at property damage.

What rioters likely did not know is that the gallery contained a collection of oil paintings that had been inspired by police-protester confrontations in downtown Portland. Local artist Alex Lilly painted them, having witnessed protests last year and this year.

'Razor Blade Rain'

The Michael Parsons Fine Art Gallery, 716 S.W. Madison St., is displaying artist Alex Lilly's 'Razor Blade Rain,' from Wednesday through June 3. An opening reception is set for 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday; an artist talk and reception is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, May 20.

The Michael Parsons Fine Art Gallery holds 20 of the works, each painted on a 6-x-6-inch composite block, priced at $395 apiece. The paintings are dark and tense, reflecting nighttime moments of drama Lilly witnessed, either creating sketches on the spot or taking photos for later reference. Paintings depict a protester being arrested, officers standing in riot gear, and clouds of tear gas shrouding protesters and officers.

Monday's May Day rioters also could not have known that Lilly is very much on their side.

"I've been an activist basically the last 20 years," said the 45-year-old artist, adding that he was present at the 1999 World Trade Organization protest in Seattle as well as the 2008 Republican National Convention protests in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Rioters' damage

The Michael Parsons Fine Art Gallery was one of five downtown businesses where rioters broke windows on Monday. The other businesses included J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Target, and Goldmark Jewelers. Government buildings with damaged windows included Portland City Hall, Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse, and the Gus J. Solomon U.S. Courthouse building at Broadway and Madison.

Lately, he said he's been inspired by protesters who've shown up regularly at demonstrations in downtown Portland. A YouTube video shows him vigorously sketching a Portland police officer in riot gear at a Dec. 30 protest.

Lilly, who studied printmaking at the Portland Northwest College of Art, described the current political climate with broad verbal brush strokes, applied with a leftist bent.

The election of President Donald Trump has "caused all these old wounds to come out in society," he said. "Also, with young people not really seeing much of a future, (and) the natural divide within any society of super rich and super poor, these people who are worried about their futures have nowhere else go to go. They see the elections aren't working, especially with the popular vote at the national level."

The conditions are ripe for confrontation, Lilly said.

"The police have to protect the physical facade of businesses," he said, "and when businesses are attacked and when there is a fight between protesters and police, it is a symbolic battle for some type of future they know they'll never get."

Lilly understands the glass at Michael Parsons Fine Art gallery, 716 S.W. Madison St., could have completely shattered Monday evening, looters could have entered and his paintings would have seen a different future than a sale to a collector. He asked that his observation about that hypothetical scene not be published.

The name of his art exhibition, "Razor Blade Rain," comes from something he wrote about Portland's demonstrations this year.

"I look into a flash grenade and I hear the past. I run for the skirmish line, through the gas. The children of the night scream in chemical pain. Their tears fall like disappointment, in razor blade rain..."